Donte’ Jackson has been named the HoopsHD.com Southwestern Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, adding another honor to a standout first season leading the Alabama A&M Bulldogs men’s basketball.
Jackson, who is also a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, helped guide Alabama A&M to one of its most successful seasons in more than two decades.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season 17–14 overall and 10–8 in SWAC play, marking the program’s first winning record in more than 20 years.
Alabama A&M also set a new Division I program mark for home success, winning 12 games at home this season. The previous Division I high for the Bulldogs was 11 home victories, reached three times.
Jackson’s leadership has helped elevate the program in his first year on The Hill, positioning the Bulldogs as a competitive force in the conference heading into postseason play.
Alabama A&M now turns its attention to the SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament, where the Bulldogs enter as the No. 5 seed. They are scheduled to face No. 4 seed Texas Southern Tigers men’s basketball in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Thursday at Gateway Center Arena in the Atlanta area.
The HoopsHD SWAC postseason honors also included Daeshun Ruffin of Jackson State Tigers men’s basketball as Player of the Year, while Antonio Munoz of Grambling State Tigers men’s basketball was named Rookie of the Year.
Defensive Player of the Year honors went to Jerquarius Stanback of Alabama State Hornets men’s basketball, while Malek Abdelgowad of Southern Jaguars men’s basketball earned Sixth Man of the Year.
The all-conference team included Ruffin, Michael Jacobs, Quion Williams, Jaquan Scott, and Troy Hupstead.
